By Jeff Chang
Due to budget restrictions and general hiring freezes, many California public agencies are forced to fill workforce gaps with temporary employees from staffing agencies. This practice, while quite common, is not well-understood — particularly when it comes to eligibility for CalPERS.
Misconception No. 1: Workers obtained from “temp” or staffing agencies are always the responsibility of those agencies Continue reading
By Jeff Chang
Many public sector employers maintain various defined contributions plans (either 401(a) or 457(b)) in addition to their participation in a large, public-defined benefit system, such as CalPERS, CalSTRS or a ’37 Act county plan. There are a number of reasons that these plans get little attention from their sponsors. But, there also are a number of very good reasons why the public agencies that maintain them should give them a “checkup” from time-to-time. Continue reading
By: Jeff Chang
Those of you who follow California public pension issues closely already know about the pending California Supreme Court cases focusing on the “vested rights doctrine.” Some of you may have attended, or viewed, my recent webinar, “Preparing for Changes in the ‘Vested Rights Doctrine’ – Understanding Plan Design Options – Best Best & Krieger” or attended an earlier presentation at the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers conference where Public Retirement Journal Owner Amy Brown and I discussed and made predictions about the pending cases. Continue reading
By: Jeff Chang
Previously, in Yours, Mine or Ours?, we examined the basics of “who” your employees are for employee benefits purposes. We also discussed some of the adverse tax and business consequences that can befall employers who either don’t understand who their common-law employees are or attempt to treat their common-law employees as someone else’s employees. Hopefully, we have convinced many of you that it is better to understand and analyze these issues rather than assume that your outsourcing arrangement works for all purposes. Continue reading
By: Jeff Chang
As the name suggests, “employee benefit plans” are for employees. However, in today’s increasingly outsourced economy, it is not always easy to figure out which of your workers are your employees for benefit purposes. A proliferation of staff-leasing, executive-leasing and co-employment arrangements all work to muddy the waters and raise the question of whether “these employees” are yours, mine or ours. Continue reading